A Yazoo City businesswoman has successfully found a way to balance being a mother, a community servant and making history as the first black licensed esthetician to own and operate a full-service day spa.
“Making my own history in today’s time has been very exciting in my very small hometown of Yazoo City,” said Camilla McCullough.
McCullough owns and operates Goddess Glamz Beauty and Wellness Spa, located on Main Street near the Yazoo City Post Office. She intends to pursue a rebranding effort in the near future. However, she is proud of the journey she has taken to begin a new professional chapter.
McCullough opened her local business about two years ago, and she said she is proud of the success it has already reached. But it was not the first career she pursued.
“I received both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Healthcare Administration, making this industry a part of my story for almost 10 years,” McCullough said. “After suffering a pregnancy loss, a divorce, and struggles of being a single mother, I wanted to do something for myself that would in return give me a sense of purpose in my life.”
Being a mother was always a main priority for McCullough. But she also wanted to assist other women who were experiencing the same challenges.
While helping women with cosmetic needs, she said she noticed many of her clients being self-conscious about their skin. This prompted her to pursue a career that would allow her to serve as an inspiration and advisor to help bring confidence to other women.
“My passion to heal others through beauty became reality when I became a licensed esthetician almost a year ago,” she said. “Stepping out on faith, I quit my career in healthcare to enroll in beauty school and seven months later, I became a graduate of Mississippi Institute of Aesthetics, Nails, and Cosmetology.”
Through her journey, the opening of her own business soon became a reality. Her salon currently serves over 180 women throughout the state.
McCullough also recently received another honor with being inducted into the Black Spa Hall of Fame, based in Atlanta. She was also nominated for Mississippi’s Business Journal’s Top 50 Under 40.
Aside from her recent honors, McCullough said it is exciting for her to be a female business owner within her own hometown of Yazoo City. Although she said she received some criticism in investing in Yazoo City, she said she has many local and out-of-town customers on a regular basis.
But McCullough said there have been challenges.
With staff shortages and a lack of business development organizations, McCullough said there have been obstacles she has faced head-on. Those challenges also included balancing a thriving business with being a single mother to her family. However, she has made it work.
“I like to involve my children, especially my daughters, with my business and teach them about self-care,” she said.
And as if balancing a home-life and successful business wasn’t enough, McCullough felt she could do more by also becoming a community volunteer and civic servant. She has created a non-profit organization geared towards supporting other mothers in the community to promote healthy homes and career mentorship.
For the future, McCollough said she would like to add a detox center to her spa, create a comfortable environment for male clients and additional services to her already solid foundation.
And, along the way, share her love for Yazoo City.
“Success means that I am able to grow and elevate into the God-fearing woman, mother, and leader that I desire to be,” she said. “There is so much success in being recognized by some of the industry’s most influential spa owners, all that are notable inspirations to myself. This is the level of success that I wish upon all women who strive every day to make a difference in this world.”
